A gift for Sparkfriends with a child's heart...

Saturday, December 08, 2012

I had an appointment in Poissy, in the North-West of Paris, today. As I had never been there, I decided to take the opportunity to go for a long walk around the little town and by the nearby Seine...

When I got there, I stopped at the Tourism Office first to take a map and some information...

And then I headed for a lovely walk by the Seine...

There is very little left from the old bridge, as it was destroyed by bombings in 1944. Most of it is like this...

But there are a couple of arches on the side which are still standing...

A new bridge has been built in the 50s.

I briefly stopped at the church ('la collégiale', 12th century)... Sorry, there is no picture of it seen from outside (it was drizzling and my picture is ugly!), but here is one from it inside. I love its simplicity.

A bit further, I entered Parc Meissonier, which had a very quiet, peaceful atmosphere.

It wasn't lacking colors... There was some yellow leaves left or some that had just fallen...

And some beautiful yellow flowers...

When I left the park, I took the abbey's path, although there is actually almost nothing left from the abbey...

The barn on the right is all that is left from what was once a huge abbey with many buildings (built in 1297).

By now, you must be wondering why I mentioned a child's heart in the title of this blog! Thank you for your patience... :) After this long wonderful walk, I went... here...

The first room was full of old teddy bears! I don't think I had a teddy bear as a child actually... did you?

The next room was packed with dolls, hundreds of them...

I loved this 19th century doll, which looked so melancholic...

And this 18th century one is one of the treasures of the museum...

As is this one, a late 18th century doll from the South of Italy (Napoli):

The nuns were in the window next to the Barbie dolls!

There were pets too!

The room with puzzles and jigsaws was great, colorful, fun...

... and very unusual! (Imagine a jigsaw like this one, 'Mary's heart', in a chain of toys' stores today?!!!)

Of course, there were lots of boys' games too!

Little soldiers for war games...

Those ones are German soldiers from the 19th century:

In the room with all the puppets, I found those ones a bit scary!

In the last few rooms, there was an exhibition about André Hellé (1871-1945), a French designer and creator of toys. I found it wonderful!

André Hellé created a ballet for puppets with Claude Debussy, out of his book 'Histoire d'une boîte à joujoux' (Story of a toys' box). It was playing in the last room at the museum, such a treat!... You can listen to it on the Internet. Here is the first part... www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XJx8M8jUXY

I hope you didn't mind that today's blog was a bit different. I don't often take you to a museum!!! Thank you very much for reading!

MILLIE5522
That was lovely! I didn't have a teddy but I loved playing with my doll's house for hours and hours!! I think the child is always in us and it is important to never lose sight of that so thank you for the reminder! 1926 days ago

REGILIEH
Mind??? You must be kidding! I always think your blogs and photos can't get better but you just keep spoiling us! It was beautiful, charming, amusing and such a wonderful Christmas gift, I wish I could reciprocate. Seeing your photos is so like really being there beside you, the only thing better would be to really be there beside you. so much for the wonderful gift! 1926 days ago

BEARGODDESS
I loved the stroll and the visit to the Toy Museum! I had a few Teddy Bears when I was a child. My mother and father bought me a beautiful canopied bed for my dolls and instead; the dolls sat on a shelf and my Teddy Bears slept in the doll bed!1926 days ago

QTEALADY20031
Claire, I think the pictures are just awesome. No, I don't recall a teddy bear, only dolls as they were my favorite. I also love puppets but your right some of those look scary. I wish I could find a puzzle of the little boy fishing. Your walk appeared to be a very peaceful one and I love the yellow flowers. Claire, thank you for commenting on my status, I shall return Friday and I hope you have a very fruitful and productive week. June1926 days ago

DALID414
I love arches, they're so strong and resilient. Thanks for the first Christmas gift of 2012, its definitely the one to beat (I had a teddy bear as a kid, he was dark brown. I don't recall if he had a name.)1926 days ago

CELLISTA1
As you know, I work in a museum. Today's museums, at least in the U.S., "must" have technology and interactivity and a kind of "slick" appearance. I grew up before all that and I still love old-fashioned museums that just display old things, like this charming Musee de Jouet. Thanks for this lovely blog. What you show us is that around every corner in Paris (and nearby) is another treasure.

P.S.I would have been tempted by L'Esturgeon, sitting right by the river. I wonder if they actually serve sturgeon. 1926 days ago

MARITIMER3
Hi Claire - love the yellow flowers, and the doll on the left in the first picture of dolls is very much like the one I remember receiving when I was maybe 4 or 5 - the one for which my mother created a whole wardrobe.

There is a wonderful museum in Hull, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa, and part of the National Capital Region, called the Museum of Civilization. Several years ago when Peter and I visited Ottawa, there was a large display of toys, and we spent hours there, remembering the toys we had as children and also pointing out the ones we always wanted but never received. Unfortunately the Museum is being renamed and its focus changed over the next couple of years.